The Republican convention was a study in unconventionality, as with the Democrats before them. Thank the pandemic and health concerns for that. There weren’t speeches before a live audience; addresses were instead in a Washington event space devoid of delegates. If there were any people there apart from the folks behind the podium, they were manning the TV cameras.
But while the coronavirus retailored each convention’s format, there were sharp differences in how each party handled what the pandemic is doing to the American people.
The Democrats talked repeatedly of the nearly 180,000 lives lost – in their telling due to the President’s botched handling of it all. Monday’s Republican debut, by contrast, was a fierce primetime defense of the president.
Especially from perhaps his fiercest defender.
“The President quickly took action and shut down travel from China,” Donald Trump, Jr. said. “Joe Biden and his Democrat allies called my father a racist and xenophobe for doing it. They put political correctness ahead of the safety and security of the American people. Fortunately, as the virus began to spread, the President acted quickly.”
(A fact check later determined that there was no evidence Biden called the travel ban “xenophobic.”)
Of course, some watching at home may not see the President’s namesake as entirely unbiased; for that, the Trump campaign used selectively edited statements from leading Democratic governors, praising the federal government’s response. They included Andrew Cuomo of New York and Gavin Newsom of California.
Another former governor spoke live: Republican Nikki Haley, who after leading South Carolina was Trump’s ambassador to the United Nations. And compared with others, her assessment may be seen as more realistic.
“The pandemic has set us back, but not for long. President Trump brought our economy back before, and he will bring it back again,” she said.
It’s certainly not surprising that the Trump campaign wouldn’t dwell on the pandemic. It undermined a core economic argument for re-election, and while there are gradual signs of improvement in spread and hospitalizations, COVID-19 is still disruptive to the economy, school and just life.
Instead, the President seemed to pivot to this summer’s other major story: the unrest over racial inequality and policing. The President and his allies warn of what could come under a Biden administration: more unrest; hamstringing police; even a plan to “abolish the suburbs,” as put by a St. Louis resident who with her husband became a conservative cause célèbre for brandishing a gun at protesters.
Race generally played a large role. Trump has polled significantly behind the Democrat among Black voters, but with enough support from African-Americans, he could win the swing states that are key to his re-election.
Monday, several African-Americans speakers praised Trump, like Hershel Walker, the former football great.
“I take it as a personal insult that people would think I’d have a 37 year friendship with a racist,” he said.
And Sen. Tim Scott (R-SC) keynoted the evening.
“Our family went from Cotton to Congress in one lifetime. And that’s why I believe the next American century can be better than the last,” he said. “I’m here tonight to tell you that supporting the Republican ticket gives you the best chance of making that dream a reality.”
Like Biden a week ago, President Donald Trump also spoke to “ordinary Americans” – front-line workers, former hostages whose release he brokered – only the advantage of incumbency (and a strong willingness to push civic norms) prompted President Trump to host them inside the White House to broadcast during a political convention.
In that vein, there was another moment of norm-breaking; this one came hours before the prime time convention began, but it’s important enough to merit mention here.
President Trump, in a daytime speech before delegates in Charlotte, North Carolina, warned: “The only way they can take this election away from us is if this is a rigged election,” he said.
In other words, if they’re needed, the President is proactively disputing any result that doesn’t leave him the winner.
“Be very very careful,” he told the crowd. “This is the most important election in the history of the country. Don’t let them take it away from you.”
There were no more warnings about voter fraud during the actual convention. In a twist, the Chairwoman of the Republican National Committee actually talked about how to safely file absentee ballots. (Experts call it overwhelmingly safe).
But voter fraud has been a favorite topic of President Trump in recent months. It’s quite possible it could re-emerge in the convention. There are also three more nights, including the main event – when the President speaks from the White House on Thursday.
